Monday, February 12, 2007

Benjamin Niolet, News & Observer:Filing challenges judge's authority — The woman seeking to have District Attorney Mike Nifong removed from office wants to stop a judge from postponing the process. On Friday, Beth Brewer, a political foe to Nifong, filed an affidavit in Superior Court requesting that Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson remove Nifong from office because of his conduct during the sexual assault case against Duke University lacrosse players. To support her filing, Brewer cited a number of charges made against Nifong by the State Bar, the agency that licenses and regulates lawyers.

But Hudson said Friday that he planned to wait until the bar had completed its trial against Nifong before he did anything with Brewer's petition. Her filing this morning seeks a hearing to challenge Hudson's authority under the law to postpone the removal proceeding. The law states that Hudson has 30 days to "review and act on the charges." ...

related:WRAL: Nifong Foe Questions Judge's Delay — Betty Tenn Lawrence, an Asheville lawyer representing Brewer, on Monday challenged Hudson's authority to postpone the removal proceeding. State law dictates that the judge act on a civil complaint within 30 days, Lawrence wrote in a letter to Hudson. Hudson told WRAL that his decision to delay action on the complaint constitutes acting on it...

John in Carolina: More on the affidavit's results — If editorialists don't think Nifong should resign, what do they think a district attorney charged by the State Bar’s Ethics Committee with scores of ethics violations including withholding exculpatory evidence should do during the months he’s preparing his defense and a cloud hangs over his office?

Should Nifong perhaps take a leave of absence? Are there provisions in state law for the appointment of a temporary replacement? What about that, Governor Easley?...

An awful lot of good has already come from the affidavit filing. And a lot more good can come of it...

discussion:LieStoppers forum: Can Judge Hudson stay Beth's complaint? — Judge Hudson is outside the envelope. The statute defines "action" as two possible courses, either set a hearing (w/in 10 but no later than 30 days) or dismiss the charge...

Jessica Rocha, News & Observer:Duke student says she was raped — She said an off-campus assault occurred in the bathroom at a party - Police are investigating allegations that a Duke University student was raped at an off-campus party on Gattis Street around 3 a.m. Sunday. More than 50 people attended a rowdy party over the weekend at 405 Gattis St., a duplex where several male Duke students live, according to Durham police. Neighbors said large number of cars were parked along the street and loud music blared from the house.

An 18-year-old woman said she was raped in a bathroom of the residence, according to a Durham police news release.

Police had not charged anyone but released a description of a suspect. The man is described as being in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-1 and wearing a black do-rag, a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans, according to a police news release...

Anyone with information about Sunday's incident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 683-1200. Callers don't have to identify themselves, and cash rewards can be paid for information leading to arrests.

NBC17.com:Police Investigate Alleged Rape Of Duke Student — The accuser is an 18-year-old Duke student. She told police she was raped during a party at a home on Gattis Street in Durham, which is owned by a private landlord. The university said it's very concerned about the incident and is waiting to see where the investigation goes. Durham police said the accuser was attending a party on the B side of this duplex at 405 Gattis Street. Officers said the woman claims she was raped in a bathroom around 3 a.m. Sunday during a party attended by at least 50 other people...

comment: Wanted Poster for suspect in Gattis Street incident - "wearing a black do-rag." The latest NBC17 update appears to have retracted their initial statement that the suspect was a "black male." It turns out the Duke Chronicle does have the journalistic cojones to report that the suspect is black.

Adam Eaglin, Duke Chronicle:Student allegedly raped off campus — Police said the suspect is described as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-1 and was wearing a black do-rag, gray sweatshirt and blue jeans.

No charges have been filed in the case at this point, police said...

related: La Shawn Barber: Another Duke Rape Case? — So, who was this do-ragged dude? Is he one of the “several male Duke students” living in the house?...

Update: The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper, reports what other stories have omitted: the suspect is black. It’s important to note race as a descriptor if the alleged rapist isn’t in custody. This men-in-their-thirties-style crap is irresponsible...

John in Carolina:“Wanted” & “Vigilante:” Not the same — “Wanted” and “Vigilante” posters played very important roles in fueling the Duke lacrosse witch hunt and enabling the frame-up of three innocent young men – David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.

The two posters helped inflame public opinion, provoked hate groups and unstable individuals, and endangered not only the Duke students who were the posters’ targets, but anyone who might be unintended victims of a violent act(s) directed at one or more of the lacrosse players.

Some people use the terms “Wanted” and “Vigilante” interchangeably. But the terms really refer to very different posters. “Wanted” is the term for what is in fact a series of at least four posters produced by Durham CrimeStoppers.

All “Wanted” posters are text only; they offer cash rewards for information concerning what the first “Wanted” poster described as “a crime” committed at the March 13/14 party...

The “Vigilante” poster is headlined: PLEASE COME FORWARD.

That’s followed in smaller type by:”We’re not saying that all 46 were involved. But we do know that some of the players inside that house on that evening knew(sic) what transpired and we need them to come forward”

The bulk of the poster is taken up with the face-photos of the 43 white lacrosse players wearing team jerseys.

At the bottom of the poster there’s this in very small type:

Note: There are four more players that were not retrieved from the GoDuke.com website before Duke took down the lacrosse team's roster on Monday morning, March 27th....

Lysa Chen, Duke Chronicle:Ad questions 'Concerned Duke Faculty' — Ten months after 88 Duke professors endorsed a "listening statement" in response to the lacrosse scandal, controversy continues to follow the signees. Friends of Duke University, an online activist group, published a full-page advertisement in The Chronicle Feb. 8 asking several faculty members to clarify their positions about an April 6 Chronicle advertisement titled "What does a Social Disaster Sound Like?"

FODU's ad comes weeks after a group called Concerned Duke Faculty said in an online statement that the April 6 advertisement has been broadly-and often intentionally-misread. "As a statement about our campus culture, the ad deplores a 'Social Disaster,' as described in the student statements, which feature racism, segregation, isolation and sexism as ongoing problems before the scandal broke," Concerned Duke Faculty's statement read.

FODU Spokesperson Jason Trumpbour, Trinity '89 and Law and Grad '91, said his organization's advertisement-which posed questions gathered from comments on the group's website and the Durham-in-Wonderland blog-was not meant to send any sort of message. "It was literally just a response to the explanation, the apology, that the Concerned Faculty posted a couple of weeks ago," he said. "We found their explanation somewhat wanting. They say they wanted a dialogue, so we thought we'd ask some questions."...

related:KC Johnson: The Clarifiers: "No Comment" — As a forerunner to tonight’s second leg of the Group of 88 Rehab Tour (for those on the Duke campus, 6.30pm, Mary Williams Center), today’s Chronicle has a well-done article on the recent Friends of Duke ad.

The FODU ad responded to the first leg of the Rehab Tour, the statement of the so-called “clarifying” faculty. The clarifiers said they wanted dialogue, so the FODU ad posed a series of questions.

The response? According to reporter Lysa Chen, “More than 80 members of the Concerned Faculty were contacted by The Chronicle via e-mail to comment on the recent FODU advertisement. Four responded and all declined to answer questions.”

Great stock is placed on the fact that the grand jury indicted the LAX players. However, that is not enough to compel a trial. The grand jury received only the evidence that District Attorney Mike Nifong wanted them to receive. Nifong was in possession of DNA results, which evidence in and of itself has been enough to exonerate convicted rapists in hundreds of cases. The line-up was flawed. The police adduced blunt force trauma which was not supported by the medical reports...

Teresa Holloman, Bahama:Durham needs prayers —Maybe they don't know that not every voter in Durham voted for District Attorney Mike Nifong. I know one thing: all voters and non-voters in Durham wish all this would just go away. So I ask, please, instead of putting us down and assuming we are ignorant, pray for us. Pray for our city officials and our residents. Pray there would be peace in Durham and that a resolution would be brought forth soon...

Just pray for us.

Lawrence McKamy, Topeka, Kansas:Students deserve more — Thank you for publishing an earlier letter calling for the resignation of Richard Brodhead, and the censuring of the "Duke 88" for their muddled and politically incorrect "piling on" the three lacrosse players for the purpose of keeping their cherished raison de'tre alive. After listening to NPR recently, I would add to the list John Burness, vice president at Duke, for frantically spinning the president's actions as correct in form and substance...

Jeff Gold, Newsday:Former Chaminade lacrosse star killed in Iraq — With words of highest praise, one who coached James Regan at Chaminade High School and one who was a three-year lacrosse teammate at Duke University remembered a man of dedication, who brought every ounce of effort to his undertakings on the field and off.

Regan, 26, of Manhasset, who starred in lacrosse at the Mineola school and at Duke before he joined the U.S. Army Rangers, was killed in Iraq last week. His family was notified Friday of his death.

"When I heard the news, I felt like I was getting hit by a truck," said Jack Moran, who coached Regan at Chaminade, where he was high school All-American in lacrosse, twice named all-league, and a member of the class of 1998. "You couldn't ask for a better person." ...

related:Herald-Sun:Former Duke lacrosse played killed in Iraq (2/11) — Jimmy Regan, a Duke lacrosse letterman from 1999-02 who joined the U.S. Army Rangers, was killed last week in Iraq, the university said Sunday. He was 26. Regan, a native of Manhasset, N.Y., finished his career with 22 goals and four assists, helping the Blue Devils to a four-year record of 43-21 with two ACC championships (2001 and 2002) and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Regan is the second former Duke athlete to die in Iraq. Marine Lt. Matthew Lynch, a native of Jericho, N.Y., who swam and played baseball at Duke, died on Oct. 30, 2004.

Thomas Bartlett & Sara Lipka, The Chronicle of Higher Educ.:One Ad, 88 Professors, and No Apologies (sub. required) — Nearly a year after the lacrosse scandal broke, Duke professors are still divided over their reactions to it - Last month Duke University's student newspaper published a letter signed by 17 economics professors. The letter seemed innocent enough. It said that, in the wake of last spring's lacrosse scandal, the professors regretted the perception that Duke faculty members were prejudiced against some students. It also publicly welcomed all students — including lacrosse players — to enroll in the professors' classes...

Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY:For Duke lacrosse, case forges bond — Almost a year since the alleged rape and sodomy of a black exotic dancer focused national attention on Duke University's men's lacrosse team, the debate on the role of race, power and entitlement has changed course. The firing of head coach Mike Pressler, the filing of rape and assault charges against three white team members and the suspension and later cancellation of the 2006 season have evolved into the district attorney's recusal from the case, dismissal of the rape charges and resumption of play Feb. 24 against Dartmouth.

New coach John Danowski, who came from Hofstra as one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport, is preparing his maligned team for its opener. His son Matt, a team member who attended the party, is a senior co-captain...

The remaining 35 players were given the opportunity to leave the school without NCAA penalty. All returned to a team that had been ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and was considered a championship contender before the rape accusations. Danowski says the players' bad behavior might have been influenced by what some witnessed as summer interns at several high-powered New York financial firms. "They're around 40- and 50-year-old men all summer. During that time they see that for those men, hiring strippers and dancers is acceptable behavior," he says. "But the rules of private behavior on Wall Street are different than the rules at college. I'm teaching values every day. I'm holding them accountable to their teammates.

Stephen Miller, Duke Chronicle:Alums: withhold your support — Whether it be a political party, a local church or a major university, if those who support an institution fail to hold it accountable, no matter what it does, then things will never improve, and ultimately, will become only worse. Such is the case at Duke. The lacrosse scandal brought to light in a new way many of the tragic problems facing our University and the unwillingness of the administration to correct them.

If we truly love Duke, and truly support its students, then we will take action to repair the University we love and to protect all its students present and future. If we truly love Duke, then we will demand that it live up to its ideals.

What sense is it for alumni to criticize Duke, see Duke be totally unresponsive to their criticisms and then to keep the checks rolling in? Is it any wonder Duke perpetually ignores the grievances of its students and alumni? The faculty handbook, which lays out some very basic professional standards to which professors must adhere, forbids attacks on students such as those we saw in the wake of the lacrosse allegations. The ad from the Group of 88 goes against almost every tenet of what it means to be a professor. Yet Brodhead refuses to issue even a verbal condemnation.

Duke professors made statement after statement, without any basis or justification, maligning and attacking Reade, Collin and David and the rest of the lacrosse team. Did the University do anything to protect its students from these assaults? ...

KC Johnson:"Jaw-Dropping" Proposals from the CCI? — The Chronicle’s Towerview magazine has a piece on the Campus Culture Initiative, the one-sided body ostensibly devoted “to evaluate and suggest improvements in the ways Duke educates students in the values of personal responsibility, consideration for others and mutual respect in the face of difference and disagreement.” ...

Those who suggest that extremist faculty will use the CCI to champion a seemingly discredited agenda needn’t worry, according to Moneta. “We’ve heard what students have to say loudly and clearly. And I think this document reflects their concerns.”

A document oriented around faculty allegedly “listening” to ideologically compatible yet unidentified students. Where has that gambit appeared before?

Liz Stuewe, Kansan.com:Stuewe: Rape case chance for discussion — Florida case more than controversy and legal battle, but a chance to address national issues. Columnist Liz Stuewe sees the recent Florida rape case as an opporunity to confront rape and sexual violence.

Here’s a story to get all the feminists riled up. A college student in Tampa, Fla., went to police after being raped. She was then jailed on a 2003 warrant for failure to pay a fine and refused her the second dose of the morning-after contraceptive. The outrage of this story is clear, not only was this 21-year-old denied proper medical treatment she was also denied proper judicial treatment...

Cash Michaels, The Wilmington Journal:Have Innocent People Been Put to Death in NC? (2/11) — The Darryl Hunt case has helped define Winston-Salem race relations for nearly 20 years, in terms few people can ignore. He’s that black man the police framed because they couldn’t let the rape of a white woman go unpunished.--The Winston-Salem Journal.

For many conservatives, and those who oppose a moratorium on capital punishment in North Carolina, the Darryl Hunt case is an anomaly in the argument that it is very likely that factually-innocent people have been executed in North Carolina.

Hunt served almost 20 years of a life sentence in prison after being wrongfully convicted in 1984 by an all-white jury of the rape and murder of a white female reporter in Winston-Salem, despite the fact that no physical evidence ever connected him to the crime, and police admittedly conducted a biased investigation...

Michael Gaynor:Professor Everett: From hall of fame to hall of shame - Professor Everett needs to read the amended complaint against Mr. Nifong carefully. Then, perhaps, he will appreciate that Mr. Nifong's problem is not the result of zeal to protect privacy, but determination to deprive the defense of exculpatory evidence...unless Professor Everett is hopelessly dense.

Michael Gaynor:Duke case: NCCU, thank you and Batson - North Carolina Central University is where (1) North Carolina Governor Michael Easley went to law school; (2) Duke case false accuser Crystal Gail Mangum was going to college when she agreed to work as a stripper at an off campus party held during Spring Break 2006 by members of the 2005-2006 Duke University Men's Lacrosse Team; (3) Durham County, North Carolina District Attorney Michael B. Nifong (appointed by Governor Easley) went prior to the 2006 Durham County District Attorney Democrat primary to assure Durham County's African-American community that the absence of DNA evidence would not dissuade him from prosecuting Duke lacrosse players eventually accused (falsely) by Ms. Mangum as though Ms. Mangum really had been gang raped; (4) criminal procedure law expert Irving Joyner teaches law; (5) Chan Hall, then 22 and a student senator, who told Newsweek last April, "It's the same old story, Duke up, Central down," and wanted to see the Duke students prosecuted "whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past"; and (6) seventeen communications students recently interviewed by The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Barker communicated the sad truth that reverse racism imperils a fair trial in the Duke case.

For (6), I thank NCCU, because it's better to know about that sad truth than not to know it or to pretend that it is untrue...